Voting summaries
MPs have many roles, but one of the most important is that they make decisions. These decisions shape the laws that govern us, and can affect every aspect of how we live our lives.
One of the ways MPs make decisions is by voting.
On TheyWorkForYou, we create voting summaries that group a set of decisions together, show how an MP has generally voted on a set of related votes, and if they differ from their party.
You can read more about our process , the kinds of votes we include , how we compare MPs to parties , and why we think this is important .
Below are summaries of how Ben Lake has voted on key issues, grouped by policy area (randomly ordered).
This page shows relevant votes while Ben Lake has been in Parliament, you can also view a summary just for the current Parliament .
Ben Lake’s voting in Parliament
Ben Lake is a Plaid Cymru MP, and on the vast majority of issues follow instructions from their party and vote the same way as other Plaid Cymru MPs.
Where MPs differ is either because they have made a decision not to follow the party whip (rebelling), or where they have differed from the majority of their colleagues in a free vote.
Ben Lake sometimes differs from their party colleagues, such as:
In the last year, Ben Lake has an alignment score of 98% with other MPs of their party (over 307 votes). Find out more .
How Ben Lake voted on Foreign Policy and Defence #
For votes held while they were in office:
Almost always voted for more EU integration Show votes
29 votes for, 5 votes against, 5 absences, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs almost always voted for.
Generally voted for strengthening the Military Covenant Show votes
10 votes for, 4 votes against, between 2020 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for UK membership of the EU Show votes
6 votes for, between 2017 and 2019. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted for.
Almost always voted for a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK Show votes
7 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2017 and 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs almost always voted for.
Consistently voted for a second referendum on the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the EU Show votes
4 votes for, between 2017 and 2019. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted for coordinated border security, new immigration crime offences, and scrapping the Rwanda deportation scheme (Border Security Bill ) Show votes
1 vote for, 2 absences, in 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 12 May 2025.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Ben Lake voted on Environmental Issues #
For votes held while they were in office:
Generally voted for measures to prevent climate change Show votes
10 votes for, 2 votes against, 1 agreement, 4 absences, between 2019 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs almost always voted for.
Generally voted for financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods Show votes
1 vote for, 2 absences, between 2018 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Voted for greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas Show votes
1 vote for, in 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs voted for.
Generally voted against new high speed rail infrastructure Show votes
1 vote against, 2 absences, between 2018 and 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted for the preservation of environmental protections after withdrawal from the EU Show votes
6 votes for, 2 votes against, between 2017 and 2023. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for improving biodiversity Show votes
3 votes for, 4 absences, in 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for improving air quality Show votes
2 votes for, 3 absences, in 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for improving environmental water quality Show votes
4 votes for, 1 absence, between 2021 and 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for increasing windfall tax on oil and gas companies Show votes
3 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2024 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Tended to vote for (alignment score: 67%) measures to encourage purchase and use of electric vehicles Show votes
1 vote for, 1 vote against, 1 agreement, 1 absence, between 2021 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs tended to vote for (alignment score: 67%).
Last updated: 2 April 2025.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
How Ben Lake voted on Taxation and Employment #
For votes held while they were in office:
Tended to vote for (alignment score: 67%) raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax Show votes
4 votes for, 2 votes against, 2 absences, between 2018 and 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs tended to vote for (alignment score: 67%).
Consistently voted against more restrictive regulation of trade union activity Show votes
7 votes against, 1 absence, between 2022 and 2023. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs almost always voted against.
Consistently voted for higher taxes on banks Show votes
8 votes for, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted against higher taxes specifically to fund health and social care Show votes
4 votes against, between 2021 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted for increasing windfall tax on oil and gas companies Show votes
3 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2024 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Voted against increasing in employers' national insurance contributions Show votes
1 vote against, in 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted against.
Generally voted for increasing capital gains tax Show votes
4 votes for, 1 vote against, between 2024 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for charging VAT on private school fees Show votes
1 vote for, 2 absences, between 2024 and 2025. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 25 March 2025.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
For votes held while they were in office:
Voted for a wholly elected House of Lords Show votes
1 vote for, in 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs voted for.
Voted for a lower voting age Show votes
1 vote for, in 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Voted for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords Show votes
1 vote for, in 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs voted for.
Consistently voted for a more proportional system for electing MPs Show votes
1 vote for, between 2020 and 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted against an equal number of electors per parliamentary constituency Show votes
1 vote for, 3 votes against, in 2020. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted against.
Voted for fewer MPs in the House of Commons Show votes
1 vote for, in 2020. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Absences for this policy may be affected COVID-19 restrictions .
Consistently voted against reducing central government funding of local government Show votes
2 votes against, between 2018 and 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted against.
Generally voted for more powers for local councils Show votes
1 vote for, 1 absence, between 2018 and 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted for fixed periods between parliamentary elections Show votes
3 votes for, in 2021. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted for.
Generally voted for transferring more powers to the Senedd/Welsh Parliament Show votes
8 votes for, 2 votes against, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Almost always voted for transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament Show votes
12 votes for, 2 votes against, between 2017 and 2024. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Generally voted for more powers for the devolved administration in Northern Ireland Show votes
7 votes for, 2 votes against, 1 absence, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Consistently voted against photographic voter identification at polling stations Show votes
4 votes against, between 2017 and 2022. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs consistently voted against.
Consistently voted for approving reports and recommendations made by the Standards Committee Show votes
3 votes for, 2 agreements, between 2021 and 2023. Comparable Plaid Cymru MPs generally voted for.
Last updated: 3 December 2024.
Learn more about our voting records and what they mean.
As a result of COVID-19, some MPs were less able to vote in Parliament in certain periods, and this will be reflected by absences in their voting record.
11th May to 2nd June 2020
All MPs could vote remotely through an online voting tool. Votes cast remotely are shown as normal on the TheyWorkForYou voting record.
2nd to 9th June 2020
The option of online voting was removed, and a number of MPs may have been unable to vote because they were not physically able to attend.
10th June 2020 onwards
The requirements on proxy voting were relaxed, allowing MPs to designate another MP to cast a vote on their behalf.
If an MP votes by proxy, it is effectively exactly the same as if they cast the vote in person and it shows up on their TheyWorkForYou voting record.
MPs are not required to designate a proxy, and may instead pair with an opposing MP to miss a vote. Parliament does not record when two MPs have come to a pairing arrangement, so on TheyWorkForYou, they will both appear to have been absent for the vote.
See more detail on votes during the COVID-19 period here.
Note for journalists and researchers: The data on this page may be used freely, on condition that TheyWorkForYou.com is cited as the source.
This data was produced by TheyWorkForYou from a variety of sources.
For an explanation of the vote descriptions please see our page about voting information on TheyWorkForYou .
Profile photo: © Parliament (CC-BY 3.0)
